


Better Together

by Nimbus_NSFW



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Alternate Universe- No Volleyball, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Minor Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, More tags to be added, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, The rape & child abuse are in the past and not described in detail and not done by canon characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-08-27 20:02:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8414821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nimbus_NSFW/pseuds/Nimbus_NSFW
Summary: Ryuunosuke isn't dissatisfied with his life. But he isn't exactly satisfied either. When his neighbor comes to him with a strange request he doesn't expect it to lead anywhere.He is wrong. A didn't meet in highschool/fake dating AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There’s some pretty serious warnings on this fic. That stuff won't be graphically described, it’s all in the past and is committed by characters made up for the purposes of the plot. The characters do talk about their experiences though. I don’t want to get too specific with the tags in case people don’t want spoilers but if you need more information the following link should take you to a tumblr post that describes the warnings in more detail, it does have spoilers but it’s totally ok to read if you think it’s best to check. Your safety is important. 
> 
>  
> 
> http://nimbus-nsfw.tumblr.com/post/152483413254/expanded-warnings-for-better-together
> 
>  
> 
> Just in case the link isn’t showing up it’s available at nimbus-nsfw . tumblr . com/post/152483413254/expanded-warnings-for-better-together with the spaces removed.

Ryuunosuke isn’t dissatisfied with his life. He has a job he mostly doesn’t hate, a roommate who is also his best friend, enough money to get by, and a sister who cares about him. Sure, there were some things he would change if he could. Not so many long nights at work, not so tight of a budget, a better relationship with his dad, a cute partner to come home to. But he is ok. 

 

He gets by. He has enough. He isn’t dissatisfied.

 

He isn’t looking for things to change. 

 

But change is one of those things that seems to do as it wills, with no regard for the designs or desires of man. Unknown to Ryuu, a major change is in the wind and is coming for him. It enters his life on a lazy spring breeze, and the ring of a doorbell in the early afternoon. 

 

At first, Ryuu isn’t sure what has woken him, but a few moments later the doorbell rings again. He debates just ignoring it and hoping whoever it is will just go away. He’d worked a closing shift the night before and hadn’t even gotten home till well into the early morning. 

 

But, he reasons, he is already awake now and he isn’t going to be able to go back to sleep either way, so he may as well see who it is. He makes his way out of his bedroom and shuffles towards the door, not bothering to look for a shirt. 

 

At first when he opens the door he is blinded by the sunlight in the open air hallway, but when his eyes adjust he notices the cute redhead from the third floor. The boy’s face is so red with a blush it is hard to see the freckles scattered across his nose and cheeks, and he looks away quickly after seeing Ryuu. The redhead shifts his weight, his grip too tight on the handlebars of his bike. 

 

“Noya’s at work sorry.” Ryuu says. 

 

He knows the redhead works in some sort of bike courier business that does a lot of jobs for the company his roommate works for. The two had met a few times through that and through living in the same building and he knows they are on good terms. He doesn’t let himself be disappointed by how uncomfortable this guy is to talk to him. Ryuu knows between the tattoos, the piercings, and the buzz cut, he has a style not everyone approves of or is comfortable with. It’s part of the reason he likes the style, but it can be annoying sometimes. Like now. 

 

“Um… I’m- I’m not here to see Nishinoya.” The redhead says nervously. “I um...I actually needed to talk to you and Nishinoya said you’d be home right now so…”

 

Ryuu raises an eyebrow in response. He’d never actually spoken to the redhead, didn’t even know his name, they were in very different professions. He has wanted to talk to him since he had moved in last summer but he can’t think of any reason for them to need to talk.

 

“Um…” The redhead continues. He takes a deep breath and seems to gather his courage, looking Ryuu in the eyes as he continues. “Will you pretend to be my boyfriend and come visit my family?”

 

Ryuu is so caught off guard by the intensity of his stare he almost completely misses what he said. He goes over it several times in his head though, sure he misheard because he does not understand.

 

“What?” He says after giving in to the fact that he’s not going to figure it out on his own.

 

“I have to visit my family next weekend for an annual get together thing. Whenever I visit my mom always tries to get me back together with my ex and I really just don’t want to deal with that this time so I need someone to pretend to be my boyfriend so she’ll think I’ve moved on and stop trying to get us back together.” The redhead explains in a rush. 

 

“Why would you want me for that?” Ryuu asks, he’s not really the type even people he’s actually dating want to meet their parents and he’s got a bad feeling that maybe this kid has the wrong idea about him. “I ain’t gonna beat up your ex for you if that’s what you’re looking for.”

 

The red head’s eyes widen and he shakes his head ‘no’. 

 

“No, no that’s fine I don’t want you to do that.” He says. “I’m asking you because it has to be someone my mom doesn’t already know and Nishinoya said it was a bad idea to hire someone from online... and he suggested you…”

 

So his roommate volunteered him? If Noya’s so invested in this why doesn’t he just do it himself. 

 

He may have mentioned to Noya a few hundred times how cute the redhead is, but he really hopes this isn’t some ill conceived plan on Noya’s part to get them together. 

 

He runs his hand over his short hair, the redhead blushes and looks away again. 

 

“You want to come in? We can at least talk it over more?” He asks, stepping back in the doorway and gesturing inside.

 

The redhead frowns and bites his lip, glancing at the watch on his wrist. 

 

“I actually have to get to work soon, sorry.” He says. He holds out a small folded piece of paper towards Ryuu even though he still won't look at him. When Ryuu takes the paper he notices how small the redheads hands are compared to his own. Is anything about this kid not adorable? He wonders.

 

“That has my number. You could text me your questions and I’ll answer in between jobs?” The redhead says.  
“Umm… sure.” Ryuu responds. The redhead nods in response and starts to walk his bike towards the exit.

 

“Wait!” Ryuu says stepping out into the hallway. He can feel his own cheeks heat up with a blush when the redhead turns back to him question all over his expression. “I um… I don’t know your name?”

 

“Oh.” The redhead says and runs a hand through his hair sheepishly. “My bad I should have said.”

 

“My name is Hinata Shouyou.” He says and smiles at Ryuu before waving and leaving. 

 

Ryuu makes his way back inside his apartment, leaning against the back of the door with a groan.

 

He’s going to say yes, he already knows it. That smile is too much and he’s weak for cute things and people that need help. 

 

This is all Noya’s fault.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who commented about the first chapter! That sort of thing means a lot to me and I really appreciate it. Hope you all enjoy this next chapter. 
> 
>  
> 
> Asanoya has been added as a side pairing just to let everyone know.
> 
> Edited 12/9/16 to make some minor changes to grammar/flow.

He spends the rest of the afternoon texting back and forth with Hinata working out more of the details.

 

It’s going to be a four day trip, they’ll be staying at Hinata’s mother’s house in his hometown that is a few hours away. Hinata was planning on taking the train to the nearest station and then the bus from there, but Ryuu hates taking the train so he offers to drive instead. It’ll just be them and Hinata’s close family to start, with the extended family expected to arrive on the third day.

 

He also learns more about Hinata. He talks about his mom and sister a lot, mentions a few other family members that will be there, but he never mentions his dad. Ryuu doesn’t ask. 

 

Hinata texts back fast during small periods of time, then wont respond for a half hour to an hour. Ryuu’s pretty sure the times it takes him longer to respond are when he’s got delivery jobs. He uses the breaks in their conversation to get some things done around the apartment and call the manager at the restaraunt/bar he works at to make sure it will be ok for him to take the time off.

 

Daichi is surprised by the request, Ryuu’s worked there for a few years now and has never asked for time off before, but he says it’s fine and that he just needs to put it on the schedule when he goes in tomorrow. 

 

Ryuu’s not really had much reason to take time off before. Saeko’s the only relative he’s close with and she lives a few blocks away from him, and his budget doesn’t really leave him much money for vacations even if he wanted to go on them. 

 

He’s washing some dishes when Noya gets home from work. 

 

Noya dumps his bag by the door, grabs a popsicle from the freezer, and hops up to sit on the counter near the sink. He’s wearing casual clothes, shorts and a long sleeved shirt, so that means he probably had a good day at work. 

 

His room mate works for a youth organization that handles a lot of different programs to help enrich the lives of the city’s youths. Noya’s always prefered the more hands on working directly with kids parts of his job the most and casual clothes usually means he got to spend at least part of his day at one of those programs. Ryuu’s pretty sure Noya almost regrets the promotion he got last year because it makes it so he has to spend more time at the office handling administrative stuff and paperwork.

 

He says almost because as much as Noya hates paperwork he knows his room mate is very dedicated to the organization and it’s goals.

 

“Did Shouyou stop by today?” Noya asks around the popsicle in his mouth. It’d probably be harder to understand if Ryuu wasn't already used to his room mate’s behaviour.

 

“Yeah.” He replies, intentionally giving as little detail as possible because he knows it’ll annoy Noya and he’s still a bit frustrated with his roommate for volunteering him.

 

“Aaaaand?” Noya says, drawing out the word into a full question.

 

“And why did you recomend me?” He asks. He’s already agreed to do it, is weirdly looking forward to it actually, but that’s not going to stop him from being grumpy with his roommate. “ ‘m not really ‘meet the parents’ material.”

 

“His mom doesn’t care about the tattoos.” Noya says as if he personally knows the woman. “Besides he was going to hire someone online Ryuu. Online. Do you know how dangerous that could be?”

 

“If you two are such pals why don’t you do it?” He asks. It’d make more sense for Hinata to choose Noya for this. Noya has piercings and tattoos same as Ryuu but his job requires him to be more presentable then Ryuu’s does so his are more toned down and easy to cover up. And Noya has most weekends off where as Ryuu works almost every weekend.

 

“Can’t.” Noya says around the now empty popsicle stick. “‘M busy.”

 

“Busy doing what? There aren’t any events that weekend.” He says glancing at the calendar on the wall to confirm. When he looks back at Noya he notices that he’s blushing and suddenly very interested in the patterned tile on the floor.

 

“Just busy.” Noya says, still refusing to look at Ryuu. 

 

“Bullshit.” Ryuu says, setting down the plate he was working on and washing his hands. He dries his hands with a washcloth and turns his full attention to Noya. They’re both maybe a little too dedicated to their jobs and neither has much of a social life outside of work and each other so for Noya to have plans he doesn’t want to talk about is unusual.

 

“I have a date okay.” Noya says, his blush getting at least three times worse.

 

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” Ryuu asks. He grabs a chair from the table and turns it so he can sit facing Noya. “Who with?”

 

“You don’t know him.” Noya says covering his face with his hands. 

 

Noya and him pretty much have all the same friends, the only people they don’t mutually know are people they work with.

 

“Oh my god do you work with him?” Ryuu asks, putting on a fake scandalized tone. Ryuu doesn’t actually have anything against office romances, but he knows they are discouraged at Noya’s job. He’s surprised Noya’d be willing to break that rule. “You must really like him.”

 

Noya’s face somehow gets redder but when he peeks out from behind his hands he’s got this look in his eyes that confirms Ryuu’s last statement.

 

“He’s a teacher.” Noya says dropping his hands to fiddle with the hem of his shirt instead. “We met while organizing an after school program at the school he works at.”

 

“Aaand?” Ryuu asks, mimicking the way Noya asked earlier. “What’s his name? What’s he like? Give me the deets. Let me live vicariously through your love life to fill the void of my own.”

 

He says the last part jokingly but Noya frowns at him. 

 

“Ryuu-” Noya starts, but he cuts him off.

 

“It was just a joke.” Ryuu says. “Please tell me about your date, I want to know.”

 

Noya looks like he wants to say something else but gives into Ryuu’s request instead.

 

“His name is Asahi and he teaches kindergarten and he’s so tall and so cute and so so sweet-” 

 

He talks for a solid two minutes before Ryuu even sees him take a break for a breath. Ryuu doesn’t actually retain all of it but he knows this talking too much and too fast thing means that Noya’s excited about what he’s talking about.

 

He’s always had a hard time understanding things when they’re said too fast or too quiet, more than most people do at least. Noya’s always had a hard time with slowing things down. 

 

But they’ve been friends for more than a decade and they’ve learned how to deal.

 

He knows that sometimes Noya needs to be able to just let it all out, all the pent up energy and too much intensity that makes most people uncomfortable. And Noya knows how he needs to speak when he actually needs Ryuu to understand. It’s difficult sometimes, but they make it work. 

 

They make accommodations for each other. They always have.

 

Instead of trying to follow his room mate’s too fast words he focuses instead on the way his voice sounds, the look in his eyes, the way his hands clench when Noya says something he thinks is especially cool. He’s learned to read these signs and by the time Noya’s winding down he feels like he’s understood the gist of what was said even if his brain wasn’t able to process all the words.

 

He makes them some food, you’d think cooking all day at work would make him not want to cook at home but he doesn’t mind. Noya’s bad at it so if he doesn’t cook they’ll wind up trying to live on corner store snacks and pre-made meals.

 

They watch a show together while they eat, and it’s nice. They watch several more episodes after that. He feels happy, he feels satisfied. 

 

Noya heads to bed. 

 

He isn’t tired yet, his work schedule makes him almost nocturnal. The apartment seems lonelier once Noya’s gone to bed. So he finds ways to stay busy.

 

He falls asleep shortly before the sun comes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed~ Comments/kudos are appreciated.  
> I also have a tumblr  
> http://nimbus-nsfw.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited chapter 2 a bit, I don’t think anyone needs to reread it because I didn't change any content really just fixed a few things and reorganized a few paragraphs so that (hopefully) they flow better, you are of course welcome to reread though if you want. 
> 
>  
> 
> !! I’ve added a warning with this chapter, it’s something that has actually been referenced a bit in previous chapters but it wont be explicitly talked about/clarified/etc for at least a few more chapters. I’m adding the warning now because I only just realized I hadn’t done so already, I’m sorry if this has caused anyone any difficulty/distress.!!
> 
>  
> 
> So this chapter has some texting and I’ve tried to make it understandable? Also there are some times when there are like, time skips? In between parts. So “---” between paragraphs means there has been some time between the previous paragraph and the one to follow. 
> 
>  
> 
> Hope it’s all clear enough, let me know if there’s anything I can do to make it more accessible.

Originally they planned to meet up sometime before the trip to talk things over and get to know eachother better. But despite living in the same building they can’t seem to find the time, their work schedules working against them. So they stick to texting. 

 

Ryuu doesn’t text much normally. Not because he doesn’t like texting, it’s just he doesn’t have many people to text, and the ones he does he sees often enough that he never has much to say in a text conversation. 

 

But it’s nice, he decides. Knowing that when he wakes up or when he goes on break at work there will be a text waiting for him. He’s never wanted a pen pal before, but he can understand now why it’d be nice.

 

They talk about all sorts of things. They need to make it seem like they’re dating so it’s not like they can show up barely knowing each other.

 

\---

 

[To: Hinata

 

What’s your sister like?]

 

[To: Hinata

 

Also what’s her name?]

 

\---

 

[From: Hinata

 

Natsu! She’s kind of a pain right now. She’s in highschool.]

 

[From: Hinata

 

Do you have any siblings?]

 

\---

 

[To: Hinata

 

Yeah, I have an older sister. Saeko. ]

 

[To: Hinata

 

She’s a bartender. ]

 

\---

 

[From: Hinata  
At the same place you work at? ]

 

\---

 

[To: Hinata

 

No, different place. Owned by the same people though. It’s how I got the job.] 

 

He feels a little hint of shame admitting that. He likes his job, and he’s grateful to Saeko for helping him get it. He wouldn’t have been able to get a job like his if she hadn’t recommended him, if she hadn’t worked so hard to be in good favor with the owners of the bar she works at. He didn’t have any formal training as a cook, no college education, and he has a bit of a bad disciplinary record from high school. Finding any job wasn’t easy, especially not one with the opportunity for training and advancement like the job she’d gotten him. 

 

He knows what his dad would say about it though, can practically hear the disdain in the man’s voice despite not having spoken to him in years.

 

[From: Hinata

 

That’s cool. So you and your sister are close? Are you from around here? ]

 

The responding text comes quick this time. He’s grateful. He doesn’t want to be left to stew in these thoughts alone. 

 

He really doesn’t have a problem with the fact that his sister helped him get a job, he reminds himself. Just because his father would have made him feel bad about it doesn’t mean he should feel bad about it. He sighs and lets the feeling go, letting his focus shift instead to answering Hinata’s new question.

 

\---

 

[To: Hinata

 

What’s your favorite food? ]

 

\---

 

[From: Hinata  
Tamago Kake Gohan! Yours?]

 

He gets this response when he checks his phone during a break at work. It makes him smile. He’s not sure why he thinks it’s so cute but he does. 

 

“Text from your girlfriend?” One of his coworkers asks as he enters the break room.

 

The guy is a relatively new employee and he seems to works somewhere that doesn’t involve ever going to the kitchen, bouncer maybe..? Ryuu pretty much never leaves the kitchen so he can’t say they’ve ever talked. He vaguely remembers being introduced to him when the guy was hired but can’t pull up a name.

 

He debates his options. Ryuu doesn’t hide his sexuality, he knows that Daichi knows as well as some of the people he works with more often. It’s not something he hides, but he also isn’t sure he wants to potentially create friction with someone at work and he really doesn’t know this guy at all so he has no idea how he’d react.

 

It’s not like he really has a significant other of any gender so there’s not any need to stop this guy from misgendering someone who doesn’t actually exist. It’s just the assumption that annoys him.

 

“Boyfriend actually.” He lies. He figures Hinata won't mind given what he’s asked Ryuu to do, and it’s not like he’ll ever have to meet this guy. 

 

“Oh.” Ryuu can see the surprise all over the guy’s face. Watches as he scrambles to cover it up. “You’re… you’re gay?”

 

“Bi.” Ryuu says. He decides to let the guy mull that over on his own for a bit, figuring he needs some time to figure it out based on the confusion he’s trying to hide. He turns his focus instead back to his phone and types out a reply.

 

[To: Hinata

 

Melonpan. Did you participate in any clubs in high school?]

 

\---

 

The guy is not a bouncer. 

 

Ryuu had made a terrible, terrible mistake. Turns out the guy is actually a bartender, he just stays out of the kitchen more than most of the other bartenders.

 

Bartenders are gossips. Horrible gossips.

 

Between them and the servers, the news that perpetually single Tanaka has a boyfriend has spread to every coworker working this shift, as well as a few that have the night off. 

 

Every time a server or bartender stops by the kitchen to pick up some food or check on an order he gets bombarded with more of their questions. 

 

“Who is he?”

 

“How did you meet?”

 

“How long have you been dating?”

 

He can feel his face get redder with every question he tries to shake off. The head chef finally takes mercy on him after the third time a server makes a teary eyed comment about “our little baby all grown up and dating”. 

 

He sends Ryuu to the back to do inventory in the pantry and freezers. Normally he hates doing inventory but tonight it is a welcome relief from the pestering of his nosy coworkers. 

 

At least no one reacted negatively, he tries to tell himself. He’s still annoyed and embarrassed. Though he’s not sure if he’s more annoyed at them or himself for getting into this mess. 

 

Ryuu is not good at doing inventory. He finds it too easy to lose his focus and lose his place so it always takes him longer than it does for other people. But it does keep him well away from the front of house staff and it requires a lot of work to try to focus, so the rest of his shift passes relatively quickly in a blur of counting, and recounting supplies. 

 

At the end of his shift he tries to just get his stuff from his locker and leave without having to talk to anyone else but of course that doesn’t work. It was a closing shift and everyone that works till closing leaves at pretty much the same time. 

 

He gets some more good natured teasing and questions from his coworkers, and an invitation to bring his boyfriend to a party some of his coworkers are organizing at the end of the month. The invitation is a pleasant surprise, none of his coworkers have ever been negative towards him about his orientation before but he’s also never had a significant other since starting to work here so he did kind of wonder just how far their acceptance extended.

 

He’s not going to be able to bring his boyfriend to the party though, because he doesn’t really have one. He’s probably going to have to make up some story about them breaking up before then and the prospect makes him more tired than his shift did. 

 

This is why lying is a bad idea, he thinks to himself.

 

“You really should.” Daichi says. He’s come up next to Ryuu to get into his own locker which is a row up and two further to the left from Ryuu’s. He hadn’t noticed the manager approach and has completely lost the thread of the conversation.

 

“Invite your boyfriend to the party?” Daichi clarifies, noticing the look on Ryuu’s face. “It’d be nice to meet him.”

 

Ryuu isn’t sure how to feel about what was just said. Because on the one hand he’s touched by Daichi reaffirming that he’s okay with Ryuu’s orientation, but on the other now he’s even more stressed that he’ll be caught in his lie. Daichi’s a great manager and a nice guy, but he doesn’t baby Ryuu like some of their other coworkers do. He used to wonder if it was just because Daichi is closer in age to Ryuu then their other coworkers, but then he realized that Daichi is just like that with everyone.

 

“Umm… I’ll think about it?” He says, trying to be as noncommittal as possible. 

 

“Ok.” Daichi says. “Just know you’re welcome to bring him.”

 

\---

 

It’s the night before they are supposed to leave for the trip and they’ve still only seen each other in passing since the day Hinata asked him to come on the trip with him. It couldn’t really be avoided, with their work schedules being what they are. It still sucks though. He doesn’t feel nearly prepared enough for the lie they are going to try to pull off.

 

He stops in at a late night corner store on his way home from work. He knows he’s not going to get much sleep tonight and they are planning to leave early tomorrow. So he needs to pick up some coffees and snacks to keep himself awake for the drive. 

 

His phone buzzes while he’s browsing the aisles. He assumes it’s Saeko sendinging him a picture of something funny she found on her way home from work, she’s the only one he knows with a sleep schedule as messed up as his. 

 

He can’t decide what snacks to get. He doesn’t know what kind Hinata likes, he realizes. 

 

He ends up just getting a variety of things in the hopes that there will be at least something Hinata doesn’t hate. 

 

He buys the items and starts to head home with the bags. It’s not till he’s halfway down the street that he remembers that he had gotten a text message. 

 

When he checks his phone he is concerned to see that the new message is from Hinata, not Saeko. Hinata’s work schedule changes from day to day, but he never works past nine and the whole time they’ve been talking he’s never stayed up past eleven. 

 

This message came in after two in the morning.

 

[From: Hinata

 

What’s your dad like?]

 

The question makes Ryuu even more uneasy. This whole time they have avoided talking about either of their dads, which Ryuu was more then happy to do but it was definitely Hinata who had initiated the avoidance of that subject. 

 

He feels like something is wrong, but he doesn’t know enough about Hinata to know what, or what to do about it.

 

[To: Hinata

 

It’s kind of late. Are you ok?] 

 

He isn’t satisfied with the message, but he can’t think of any better way to put what he wants to say so he sends it anyway.

 

He watches his phone anxiously awaiting a response as he walks, navigating his way home mostly by memory. 

 

[From: Hinata

 

Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry to have bothered you so late. ]

 

He’s in front of the door to his and Noya’s apartment when he gets the response and he types out a reply before pocketing his phone to pull out his keys.

 

[To: Hinata

 

It’s not a bother, you just normally don’t text this late. Made me worry. ] 

 

Once inside he does his best to set his bags down quietly on the table and puts the drinks in the fridge. Noya’s gotten used to having a nocturnal room mate so he doesn’t wake up as easily as he used to, but Ryuu still tries to be as conscientious as he can be.

 

[From: Hinata

 

I think I’m just nervous about the trip. Sorry for making you worry. ]

 

Ryuu frowns at his phone. Nerves about the trip could definitely explain being up so late, but he still can’t figure how suddenly bringing up the subject of dads factors into things.

 

[To: Hinata

 

It’s fine. Nerves are understandable. Want to talk?] 

 

He had been planning on trying to get to sleep when he got home, but that had already been a long shot even before this change in Hinata’s behavior had made him feel so weirdly unsettled.

 

Hinata doesn’t answer the question, instead he just jumps into a conversation more similar to those they’ve been having all week, asking him about his opinion on some popular show. 

 

They talk for a few hours like that. It’s the longest block of time they’ve ever talked without being interrupted by one of them having to go to work or sleep. The subject of the conversation bounces around a bit, but it stays light.

 

Hinata doesn’t bring up the subject of dads again.

 

Eventually, Hinata’s replies slow and then stop. Ryuu’s pretty sure that means he has finally fallen asleep. 

 

Ryuu makes his way to his own bed, figuring that even if he doesn’t manage to get any sleep at least laying down and trying should count for something.

 

He’s nervous about tomorrow, but he realizes that he’s also excited.

 

As much as he isn’t looking forward to trying to be convincing with their lie, he is looking forward to spending time actually with Hinata. And maybe he’s looking forward to the possibility of finding out the answers to the questions he doesn’t feel comfortable asking yet.

 

Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it! I promise they actually interact in person in the next chapter. The coming chapters are going to reveal more about Ryuu and Hinata, but given that they’re going to be in Hinata’s home town with Hinata’s friends and family I wanted to do a bit more with Ryuu in his home town and about/with the people important to him first… is I guess the reasoning behind this chapter and the one before?
> 
>  
> 
> My tumblr is http:// nimbus-nsfw . Tumblr. com/
> 
>  
> 
> As always comments/kudos/messages are appreciated, thank you so much!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has been reading this and especially anyone who has left kudos/comments. It’s very much appreciated.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

He manages to catch a couple hours of sleep before his alarm wakes him. Noya’s already left for work but he left a note on the fridge apologizing for having taken one of the coffees Ryuu had bought and wishing him luck on his trip. He rolls his eyes when he reads the messy note but he’s not actually upset, just glad he had bought extras. 

He showers and then goes to his closet to figure out what to wear for the day. He had packed the night before, but hadn’t thought to set aside some clothes for today. He debates for a bit before deciding on some comfy sweatpants and a plain t shirt. He wants to make a good impression, but wearing anything nicer is going to make him uncomfortable in the car. He could probably stop somewhere to change once they got closer to Hinata’s hometown, he reasons. 

He loads his stuff into the back of the car. Then he puts the snacks and drinks into the back seat where they can still be reached from the front. It’s a pretty small car, and it’s definitely old, but it had been cheap and it’s surprisingly reliable. Despite it’s many flaws he’s loves it anyway, chipped paint and all. 

He checks the time and realizes he’s running a bit early so he drinks a coffee while he goes over his packing list again to make sure he didn’t forget anything. 

When the time they had agreed to meet comes and goes he gets a bit worried. He checks to make sure he didn’t mess up the day or time, but he has them both right. 

Eventually he gathers his courage and makes his way up to the third floor. 

When he knocks on the door an angry looking guy with black hair answers. He’s about to apologize for having gotten the wrong apartment, but then the guy yells back into the apartment. 

“Hinata he’s here!”

There’s a crash and a thud from somewhere inside the apartment followed by a string of curses. The black haired guy steps back and opens the door wider to let Ryuu in. 

“He’ll be out in a bit.” He says. 

“Oh, uh thanks.” Ryuu says, stepping inside. The guy is staring at him, and Ryuu feels a bit uncomfortable. He hadn’t been aware of Hinata having a roommate, but it makes sense now that he thinks about it. Though how Hinata and this guy get along well enough to live together he can’t imagine. 

“I’m Tanaka, nice to meet you.” He says trying to be polite and, hopefully, make things less awkward. 

“Kageyama.” He says shortly. 

Hinata emerges from his bedroom then, thankfully saving Ryuu from any more awkward attempts at small talk. He’s in athletic shorts and a sweater, and his hair is more disheveled than normal. He looks adorable.

“Sorry! Sorry! I overslept.” He says, yanking his large duffle bag when it gets stuck in the doorway. 

“It’s fine. No worries.” Ryuu says at the same time as Kageyama says “Well maybe you shouldn’t have stayed up so late dumbass.” 

Hinata responds to Kageyama’s comment by sticking his tongue out at him and making a face. He tries to make his way past them to the door but Kageyama stops him by grabbing on to the strap of his bag.

“Call me if you need to.” Kageyama says. 

Hinata looks grumpy but he responds with an affirmative nod. 

Satisfied, Kageyama releases his grip on the bag and heads off to what is probably his room. Hinata opens the front door and motions for Ryuu to follow him out of the apartment. 

“Sooo.. he’s a ray of sunshine.” Ryuu says. It’s meant to come off as lighthearted, but he chooses his words carefully. 

He feels so awkward. They’ve gotten comfortable texting each other but it seems that comfortable familiarity doesn’t yet extend to in person interaction. They’ll definitely need to work on that if they’re going to pass as a couple.

Hinata snorts with laughter. 

“Yeah Kageyama’s kind of a jerk.” He says. He seems to have set aside whatever thoughts Kageyama’s goodbye brought up and he’s smiling now. 

It makes Ryuu prouder than it should to know that Hinata is smiling because of something he said.

“He’s your roommate right? How’d that happen?” He asks.

“Yeah, well, he was the only person I knew when I moved here.” Hinata says. “We met in junior high.” 

That explains why Kageyama couldn’t be Hinata’s fake boyfriend Ryuu thinks, if they met that long ago Hinata’s family would definitely know him. 

“We hated each other at first, but then we got to know eachother better in high school and became friends.” Hinata continues.

“He’s a jerk but he’s a good friend too so.. I don’t know…” Hinata says. His smile has faded and Ryuu wonders what he is thinking about. He wonders if it’s the same thing he was thinking about when he said goodbye to Kageyama, if maybe it’s the same thing that made him text Ryuu so late last night. 

He tries to think of something to change the direction of the conversation but Hinata continues on his own. 

“He’s a terrible roommate though.” Hinata says chuckling “He always drinks all the milk.”

“Mm I know how that is. Noya stole one of the coffees I got for our trip.” Ryuu says, fine with this new direction. “It’s a good thing I bought extra.” 

When he opens the back of his car to put Hinata’s bag in, Hinata doesn’t comment about the size of the car or the peeling paint. He does comment about the snacks in the back seat. Apparently Ryuu chose well, Hinata is excited to find out he can have some. 

They load into the front seats, and Hinata gives some directions about where they need to go in between bites of food. Ryuu has a pretty good idea of where to go for most of the trip, but he’ll need help when they get closer. 

Hinata turns down the offer of a coffee but drinks a juice instead. Ryuu starts another coffee and has some of the snacks while he drives. 

Hinata starts to fall asleep once they make it out of the city. He tries for a while to stay awake, insisting he’s fine and not tired, but his eyes keep drifting shut and his head keeps nodding. Ryuu turns down the radio, and it isn’t long before Hinata is completely asleep, face pressed up against the passenger side window.

Ryuu’s glad he’s driving, it keeps him from spending too much time looking at Hinata and thinking about how adorable he is. 

Ryuu drives for a few hours like that, content to let Hinata get some sleep. The scenery is pretty, and even though the volume is low the radio is playing songs he likes. It rains on and off as they drive, and the vents hum when he turns on the heater.

Eventually he gets to a crossroads and doesn’t know which direction to take, so he pulls over to wake Hinata and ask him. 

Hinata gets sick after he wakes him, so Ryuu supposes it was good that they were already pulled over. He at least makes it out of the car before hand, which is good because it makes cleanup easier.

Hinata apologizes a bunch after and Ryuu does his best to reassure him that it’s fine. It’s unpleasant, but lots of people get carsick when they sleep on long car rides and it’s not like he did it on purpose or anything.

Once they’re back in the car and Hinata has told him which direction to go the awkwardness from earlier comes back to remind him that they’re still basically strangers. He searches for something to talk about and eventually lands on something he’s been meaning to bring up.

“Um, so I was thinking… maybe before we get there we should talk about boundaries and stuff?” He says. The phrasing feels awkward and heavy on his tongue but he can’t think of a better way to bring this up and it is something they need to talk about.

“Boundaries?” Hinata asks.

“Well, yeah. Like… we’re supposed to pretend to be a couple… and I imagine that involves some PDA… but.. I don’t really know how much? Or what kinds is ok? I don’t know…” Ryuu says, pushing on despite the embarrassed blush he can already feel on his cheeks. “...seems like it might be useful to talk about that in advance.”

“Oh.” Hinata says. He’s blushing too now, and Ryuu is starting to seriously doubt if they’re going to be able to pull this off if just talking about it makes them both this embarrassed.

“Um, well….” Hinata starts, pausing to think for a moment before continuing. “I um… tend to be… a bit hands on… so… people are probably going to expect that? But if you’re not comfortable with that we dont have to?”

“Um, no- no that’s fine.” Ryuu says, face positively burning. “We can do that.”

He still doesn’t feel like they’ve discussed this enough but he’s too embarrassed to push the conversation to continue. So they both sit quietly for a while, each trying their best to stop blushing. 

“Maybe we should come up with some code words or phrases?” He manages eventually. “That way if one of us gets uncomfortable or needs to talk in private with the other when we’re around others we can let each other know without being obvious?”

“Woah, like spies?” Hinata asks excitedly, embarrassment forgotten for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah hope you enjoyed. Comments & kudos appreciated. 
> 
> I haven’t decided yet what I want Kageyama’s job to be… I’m having more difficulty with that one then the others. ;; if anyone has any suggestions? Feel free to let me know.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update again! My life is very hectic right now ;; hopefully someday things will calm down enough for me to write consistently, but that day is not today. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading this and especially for all the comments. They mean so much to me.

They’ve barely made it out of the car, parked now in front of Hinata’s childhood home, when Hinata is practically knocked off his feet by a girl who bursts through the front door and takes a flying leap into his arms. He stumbles a bit on impact, but manages to keep from falling or dropping the girl. 

“Natsu! You can’t just. Just surprise people like that!!” Hinata sputters and yells, but he’s smiling and hugging her while he does it so it kind of ruins the effect. 

Ryuu finds himself smiling as he starts getting their bags out of the back. Saeko and him have always lived in the same city, but he imagines he’d be really excited to see her if she moved somewhere else. 

Bags gathered he stands off to the side, content to just watch them catch up with each other. 

Natsu leans in for what seems to be another hug and whispers something to Hinata. His expression darkens. His smile sinks into a frown and all the happy atmosphere from a moment before is gone. 

Ryuu follows his line of sight to the front door, which is being held open by an older woman. 

“Shoyo, you’re home!” The woman says. Her smile seems warm and genuine, but Hinata is clearly upset about something. 

“Did I hear that Shouyou is here?” Asks a man who has come to the doorway from inside the house. He has dark hair and a charming smile and is clearly familiar with the house and Hinata’s family… but Ryuu’s not sure who he is.

According to what Hinata had told him, it was just supposed to be them and Hinata’s mother, grandmother, and sister until the third day when the rest of the family was expected to arrive.

“Ah Shoyo! It’s so great to see you again.” The man says, spotting Hinata. “And you’ve brought a friend! How wonderful.”

The sudden shift of attention to him feels like an actual physical weight. The woman’s expression remains pleasant and welcoming, the man’s smile is no less charming directed at him then it was directed at Hinata, Natsu’s stare seems only curious, but there is a tension in this situation he doesn’t understand. It fills him with unease.

“He’s my boyfriend.” Hinata says flatly. When Ryuu looks at him he has rearranged his expression into one of careful neutrality. 

The man’s eyebrows raise but his smile remains. “Ah I see.”

“Delighted to meet you, I’m Kyosuke” He says, coming down from the porch. He crosses the lawn and holds his hand out to Ryuu. 

Ryuu has to rearrange the bags in his arms to be able to take his hand and shake it. 

“I’m.. uh I’m Ryuunosuke Tanaka. Nice to meet you too.” He says, stumbling over his words slightly. He can feel an embarrassed blush creeping up his neck as he mentally berates himself for the blunder. 

He’s barely dropped Kyousuke’s hand when Hinata grabs Ryuu’s, lacing their fingers together and pulling him past Kyousuke towards the door. He doesn’t spare Kyousuke a passing glance. 

“Come on, let's go put our bags down.” He says. His expression is still that carefully neutral one, but his grip on Ryuu’s hand is too tight and his steps just a little too heavy.

He leads them past his mom on the porch and into the house. Ryuu doesn’t really get a chance to look around as Hinata pulls him up a flight of stairs, down a hallway, and through a door. 

Hinata shuts the door behind them abruptly, leaning against it and blowing a puff of air up against his bangs. Ryuu glances around the room, which appears to be a bedroom. 

There’s a bed in one corner, a desk in another, a single window on the opposite wall from the door, some volleyball posters on the walls. This was probably Hinata’s room before he moved out, he thinks. It’s a weird thought for him, he knows on some level that it’s not unusual for parents to keep their kids rooms the same till they’re more established on their own… but he knows there’s no room like this waiting for him at his father’s apartment. 

The realization that something so normal can feel so foreign always seems to catch him by surprise.

“I’m so sorry about that.” Hinata says, pulling Ryuu’s attention to him. He’s still leaning against the door, and he’s looking at the desk when he speaks. 

“It‘s fine,” Ryuu says. He’s not really sure what Hinata is apologizing for exactly but whatever it is it seems to be bothering Hinata more than it is him. “You ok?”

“Yeah m’ fine.” Hinata says. Ryuu doesn’t really believe him, but it’s not really his place to press the issue. 

“I can’t believe she invited him over even though I told her I was bringing you.” Hinata adds, crossing the room to the desk to fiddle with some of the nicknacks on it. “I really thought telling her I was bringing my boyfriend would get her to stop this.”

Oh. So Kyosuke is the ex then. Huh. 

“It’s fine... It’s good, actually.” Ryuu says. It gets Hinata to look at him with eyebrows raised. “Because we’re not actually dating.”

“You don’t have to worry about my feelings getting hurt or this getting things off to a bad start or whatever, and we can use this trip to convince your mom to stop doing this sort of thing.” Ryuu continues. “So that when you do find someone you actually want to date, you don’t have to deal with this then.” 

Hinata opens his mouth to respond but there’s a loud knock on the door interrupting him.

“Sho! Stop making out with your boyfriend! Mom says it’s time for lunch.” Natsu yells from the other side of the door.

Hinata groans and rolls his eyes, walking back to the door. 

“You sure you’re okay?” Hinata whispers to him, hand on the door knob.

Ryuu nods and Hinata opens the door. Natsu doesn’t even try for subtlety when she peers around the room curiously. Ryuu’s not really sure what she is expecting to see, they’ve only been up here a short while. 

“Since when do we have lunch plans?” Hinata asks. 

“I don’t know, since Mom decided we did.” Natsu says with a shrug. Whether or not she saw what she was looking for she seems to have completely lost interest in the conversation. She puts in her earbuds and heads for the stairs. 

Hinata remains in the doorway, and he still seems… not really ok. Ryuu puts his hand on Hinata’s shoulder awkwardly.

“It’s going to be ok. We got this.” He says when Hinata looks at him. He hopes he sounds more sure than he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Comments/kudos appreciated! I’m on tumblr @nimbus-nsfw

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked it? Comments/messages are appreciated. I’m not sure about the title? It's a reference to a song that reminds me of Tanahina... So if anyone has any comments/suggestions about that I’d love to hear them.
> 
>  
> 
> I have a tumblr Nimbus-NSFW  
> http://nimbus-nsfw.tumblr.com/


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